It's Not You, It's Me
by ARich18
Summary: Takes place starting at the end of 12x12. DeanxCass slash fic. Rated M for future chapters.
1. chapter 1

The angel groaned and then coughed as he wrestled with the pain. "Crowley is right. You should go." His neck curved backward when another wave of pain wracked his body. He heard Dean huff and knew that the task of getting him to leave would be difficult. Why didn't he understand? Castiel was dying. Anyone could see that.

"Cass, come on." Dean refused to let Cass sacrifice himself yet again. He had to believe that the angel would make it. Cass always pulled through, but this time seemed different. Dean had seen Cass give up before, but there was a sadness in his eyes that he had never seen before. It was something that made Dean feel like this wasn't like any of the other close calls.

"No, you listen to me." The angel demanded. "You-- Look, thank you. Thank you. Knowing you, it--" Castiel grimaced in pain. "It has been the best part of my life. And the things that--" He inhaled sharply. "The things we have shared together, they have changed me." He groaned and then met Dean's eyes which were brimming with stubbornly unshed tears.

"You are my family". At that, Dean choked back a sob, tears finally starting to stream down his cheeks. It shocked Castiel that Dean would show so much emotion in front of anyone.

"I love you." He willed Dean to meet his gaze. He did, but turned away quickly, trying to hide his tears. Before anyone else noticed the exchange, Castiel continued. "I love all of you." He made eye contact with everyone else in the room, including Crowley who was wearing an expression that Catiel couldn't read.

"Just please, please, don't make my last moments be spent watching you die. Just run. Save yourselves. I will hold off Ramiel as long as I can." He pleaded and then coughed painfully.

"Cass, no." Dean protests, his voice cracking.

"Yes." The angel insists. "You need to keep fighting."

"We are fighting." Dean gestures to the others. "We're fighting for you, Cass. Like you said, you're family. And we don't leave family behind." Cass had finally given up. Dean could feel it. He looked to the one person who he knew could make everything better.

"Mom?" Mary looked at her son, his eyes bloodshot and weeping. He was biting his lip slightly to keep it together. "What's the play?"

She put on her mom face and said "We hit him with everything we've got".

As soon as Ramiel walked into the barn, Dean dropped the lighter, igniting the ring of holy oil that the Prince of Hell had unknowingly stepped into. Ramiel glanced at the ring of fire surrounding him with interest.

"Toasty."

Dean stepped forward, the fire illuminating his face which held an expression of pure rage. "You stabbed one of our friends."

Ramiel shrugged. "Your friend was trespassing."

"Tell us how to cure him." Dean demanded.

"There is no cure." The Prince of Hell relished the look of hopelessness on the man's face.

"Do you have any idea who we are?" Dean exploded.

"I don't care. I don't care who you are. I don't care why you're here. I don't care about Heaven or Hell or anything. I don't even care that Lucifer's got a bun in the oven." Ramiel countered. By the look on Dean's face when he mentioned Lucifer's child, he could tell he was interested.

"You know about that? My sister Dagon, she's taken an interest. But me? Eh."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. You don't care."

Ramiel nodded. "All I wanted was to be left alone. But then you come. You steal from me. And that? Oooh. That I cannot abide. Give me back what's mine or I take it off your lifeless bodies. You've got 30 seconds."

Dean loads a bullet into the Colt. "Obviously, we've got no idea what you're talking about."

"20 seconds."

Dean chuckles nervously and aims the gun. "Have it your way." Before he is able to squeeze the trigger, the circle of holy fire disappears and he is thrown against the wall. Sam makes a grab for the Colt which had fallen out of Dean's hand, but is also thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious. Cass groans loudly and Dean clumsily gets to his feet.

"Cass." Dean makes his way over to the angel while Ramiel just watches, intrigued by the way Dean says "Cass".

"Hey, buddy." Dean grips the angel's arm tightly. Sam wakes up and makes his way over, kneeling next to Dean.

"Hey, we're here, Cass." Sam says, keeping a little more distance than Dean.

"We're right here, buddy." Cass gags on some invisible substance and blows a puff of air from between his lips.

"Ah, the magic." Ramiel looks at Castiel, admiring the work of the lance he holds. "It's all in the runework." He runs his fingers along the intricate patterns in the wood. "The craftsmanship." Only Crowley was listening to the Prince of Hell at this point.

"Hang in there, all right?" Dean squeezes the angel's arm even tighter and then turns to Sam. "What do we do?" Suddenly there was a snap and a whoosh, and everyone turns away from Cass to see Crowley holding the staff which was now in two pieces. Crowley shrugs.

"The magic's in the craftsmanship." He states, like it was completely obvious. Sam and Dean turn back to the angel.

"Cass?" Dean sees Cass patting himself down, checking for any sign of injury. Cass looks up at Dean and they make eye contact.

"You're welcome." Crowley says, a smug smile on his face, but no one pays attention. The lance clatters to the floor.

"So you're good?" Sam addresses Cass. The angel nods and looks away from Dean.

"Yes. I--I think so." Cass looks back at Dean. There was something in his eyes that made Cass worry. He had never seen that look on his face before. "Dean? Are you--".

Before Cass could finish, Dean smashed his smooth lips into the angel's chapped ones, roughly pushing him into one of the barn's wooden supports. Before Cass could react, Dean let go, a calloused hand resting on the angel's chest. The two stare at each other for a second as the others in the room share a moment of shocked silence. Dean coughs awkwardly.

"Let's head back to the bunker. We need to plan what our next move is gonna be." He orders gruffly, cheeks flushed.

"Dean, wait. What just--" Cass starts in confusion.

"Let's go, Cass." Dean grabs the angel's arm and pulls on it. Castiel, even knowing that he could just teleport to the bunker, follows obediently, hoping that Dean will explain what happened in that barn. The two brothers, Mary, and Castiel head back to the cars.

Mary gets in her car and drives away while the boys continue walking to their car. When they reach Baby, Sam opens the passenger door to get in but Dean puts his arm out to stop him. "Get in the back, Sammy." Sam looks at Dean in confusion.

"Dean?"

"I said get in the back, Sammy." Sam raises his eyebrows and opens the back passenger door.

"Dean, that's not necessary." A gravely voice protests.

Sam looks out the window to see Dean trying to help Cass into the car. Cass finally gives in and lets Dean buckle his seatbelt.

"You all good?" Dean asks, checking if the seatbelt is latched properly. Sam could almost hear the eye roll when Cass replied.

"I'm fine, Dean."

"Good." Dean nods in approval, patting the angel's thigh as he stands up and makes his way to the driver's side.

As they merge onto the freeway, Cass decides to address the situation again. "Dean?"

"Yeah, Cass?"

"What happened back there in that barn?"

"We had a fight with a Prince of Hell and you almost died. You feelin' okay?" Dean turns briefly to look at Cass, concern etched into his features. The angel sighed in annoyance.

"No, Dean. I mean't after that."

Dean was the one who sighed this time. "We'll talk about it later Cass."

"But, Dean--"

"I swear we'll talk about it, okay."

"But--"

"Or pinky-promise. Does that work for you?" Dean thought he was in the clear when he got no response after a minute or two, but then Cass spoke.

"Dean, I don't understand."

 _Great._ Dean thought. _Just great._

"How can two people promise with their pinkies?"

"Cass." Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"But--"

"Cass." He repeated.

"But--"

"Cass." Dean unbuckled his seatbelt. Cass finally stopped talking, although the gears were still turning in his head. "Please stop talking." Dean leaned over and kissed the angel, this time more deeply and heartfelt than the last. He pulled away after hearing a cough from the back seat.

"Guys? Could you maybe do that later? Like, when I'm not sitting in the back seat?"

"Shut up, Sammy." Dean's cheeks warmed and he put his seatbelt on. Both Cass and Sam were silent the rest of the drive home.


	2. Chapter 2

Two Weeks Later*

Dean walks aimlessly through the empty halls of the bunker, his cell phone up to his ear. The ringing stops with a click and a familiar gravely voice answers.

"Hello, Dean".

A strangely giddy smile lights up Dean's face. "Hey, Cass. How's it going?"

"Well, I can't seem to find any trace of Kelly--"

"How are you?"

"Well, uh," The angel pauses, unsure of what to say. "I am doing well?"

"You sure?" Dean couldn't tell if Cass was just being awkward or if there was something wrong. He heard the angel clear his throat briefly.

"Yes, I am doing well, Dean." He says, more sure of himself this time. He didn't think he would ever understand the purpose of asking about someone's health if they were never sick. _Maybe I should ask Dean about that later,_ he thought. He heard a sigh of relief from the other end.

"Good. That's good, Cass." They shared an uncomfortable silence and Dean realized that he had stopped walking at some point. He shuffled his feet a bit on the concrete floor and cleared his throat. "You said you can't get the 10-20 on Kelly?"

"I don't see what the numbers ten and twenty have to do with us finding Kelly Kline."

"Her location, Cass. You can't find her?"

"Oh, yes. There is no trace of her."

"Great. Just great." Dean started walking again out of agitation. He made his way into the library, where Sam was doing some research. "Okay. Well, stay on it. You get any leads, you let us know, and we'll keep working it from our end. Stay safe, Cass." He takes the phone away from his ear and ends the call with a sigh.

"So Kelly Kline is in the wind. No trace." Dean says to Sam, sitting on the table.

"Great." Sam replies without looking up from his laptop.

"No idea when Lucifer's kid is gonna pop, if it hasn't already."

"So, basically, we got nothin'."

"Basically." Dean nods, rubbing a hand over his face to stifle a yawn.

"Alright." Sam stretches his arms and cracks his neck. "Well, we do have this other thing."

"What 'other thing'?"

Sam maneuvers his laptop so that Dean can see the article he found. "Check it out. Museum in Des Moines, Iowa. A guy's body was found in the parking lot. A teacher. His tongue had been ripped out." Dean makes a face.

"Well, that didn't kill him."

"No, but having his internal organs crushed did." Sam explains, pointing to the corresponding section of the article. "Uh, no obvious damage to the torso. No point of entry."

Dean places his hand on his chin in thought. "You thinkin' witch?" Sam leans back in his chair and runs a hand through his hair.

"Maybe. I mean, he was seen alive just a couple hours earlier, leading a student tour of the museum."

"You think Cass will want to come?" Dean asks, standing up.

"I don't know. You could ask. It would be good for him to have some sort of a break after all he's been doing to find Lucifer's kid." Sam shuts his laptop and puts it in his bag. Dean pulls out his phone and dials the angel's number. Cass picks up after the first ring.

"Dean. Is everything alright?" His voice was filled with panic.

"Chill, man. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come on a hunt with Sam and me. We think it's a witch." Dean almost laughed. Cass seemed so worried about him.

"I don't know, Dean." Cass seemed to be having some internal conflict. "What if Kelly turns up somewhere? What if I miss a sign?"

"Sam thinks it would be good for you to have a break."

"Do you think it would be good for me to have a break?"

"I think it would be good for all of us. Plus, I haven't seen you in a while."

"It's only been two weeks, Dean."

"Well, then it's two weeks too many." Dean pushes, blushing slightly. He would never in a million years think that he would tell Cass he missed him, but he just did.

"Goodbye, Dean." Cass hangs up and Dean looks at his phone in confusion, a look of hurt on his face. _Did Cass just hang up on me? Maybe it was too soon. Or maybe he just doesn't like me._ He turns around and is promptly shoved into the wall, familiar chapped lips hungrily devouring his own. He melts into the angel's embrace, comforted by Cass's scent of ozone and pine trees. Dean clings to the angel's trench coat with one hand, the other behind Cass's head, pulling him closer. _Nevermind._ Dean sighs contentedly and pulls away gently.

"You ready to go, Dean?" Sam walks in, bag slung over his shoulder. He sees Dean, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. Then he sees Cass, whose eyes are slightly unfocused. His hair was sticking out every which way, and his trench coat was wrinkled and hanging off of one shoulder. "Uh..." Sam starts backing out of the room. "Maybe I should just come back a little bit later." Dean surprises him by responding.

"Nah, you're good, Sammy. If you leave us alone now, we won't ever be leaving this bunker." He winks pointedly at Cass, who still looks a little bit dazed.

"Oh, God. Too much information, Dean!" Sam turns away and pretends to gag. Dean chuckles. _This is going to be fun._

"Alright, Sammy. Let me get my stuff and then we're off to kill the wicked witch." Dean straightens his angel's clothing. "Cass, stay here with Sammy." The angel nods in response. "I'll be right back!" Dean calls as he heads down the hall to his room.

The glow from Sam's tablet illuminates his face in the back seat as Dean drives down the highway. It was already night, and Sam knew that Dean thought he couldn't see the hunter and the angel holding hands in the front seat. He shifted in his seat.

"Get this. It looks like there was another murder. It's just like the one we're checking up on."

Dean romoves his hand from Cass's and grips the steering wheel. "Iowa?"

"No. Andover, Massachusetts. Six months ago. A woman. Body was found in the same condition. Looks like she was a teacher too."

"Hmm."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Tired."

"We should probably stop for the night. It's not like the body is going to go anywhere."

"Sounds good." Dean grunts. Sam leans back in his seat and sees Dean's hand wrapped around Cass's. What he hadn't seen was where the angel's hand had gone in order to get Dean to hold it again. It was something he was glad to have missed.

When they finally enter their motel room, Cass speaks. "I should check for news of Kelly." Dean grabs his arm, knowing that he can't actually stop the angel from leaving. He stares into Cass's icy blue eyes.

"Be safe, Cass." Cass nods once and disappears with a whoosh.

The next morning, Dean woke to find himself pinned to the bed by a very heavy angel. It seemed as though Cass had come back and fallen asleep, intertwining his limbs with Dean's. He hears someone clear their throat and tries to maneuver his head to look. Sam was standing by the bed, fed suit on, arms crossed, and a smirk on his face.

"Oh, shut up." Dean tries to whisper, not wanting to wake up his angel. Cass begins to stir and pulls away from him with a groan that goes straight to Dean's crotch. Sam raises his eyebrows and Dean runs to the shower, hoping that Sam didn't notice his terribly embarrassing case of morning wood. Unfortunately, Sam did notice, but he decided not to bring it up. The sight of the serious angel wrapped around his brother was something he could get used to. Both of them seemed well rested, which meant that Dean was less likely to drink first thing in the morning. Anything that stopped Dean from drinking, at least for a little while, was always welcome.

Cass sits up, squinting at the bright sunlight streaming through the open curtains.

"Goodmorning." Sam says, still smirking.

"Good morning, Sam." The angel stands up and straightens his clothing, brushing off his trench coat like nothing had happened. Dean comes out of the bathroom fully dressed, takes one look at Cass, and rolls his eyes.

"Fed suits, Cass. We are wearing fed suits."

Cass blushes and disappears with a flutter of wings, reappearing almost instantly and wearing his fed suit. Dean nods in approval and the boys make their way to the Impala. Their first contact was Dr. Daisy Ochoa from the museum. The three boys walk through the building, Sam interviewing the woman.

"So, thank you again for meeting with us, Dr. Ochoa." Sam addresses her.

"Of course, Agent. I--" She stops walking and turns towards Sam, lowering her voice. "We've had two murders in two days. The police have no idea what's going on, and--"

"Well, that's why we're here." Dean interrupts, earning a disapproving look from his brother.

Sam stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Now you said victim number two brought some Timber Troops through here, right?"

Dr. Ochoa nods. "16 hours ago, they were standing right where you are."

Dean steps in again. "Is there anything new to the museum?"

Cas butts in. "Like a cursed object or human remains?" The brothers give the angel a look, but the woman takes it in a stride.

"Well, here in the lab, three traveling exhibits have been uncrated. One's already on display. The other two are being prepped." She explains, gesturing to the empty crates and objects lying on tables. Suddenly, someone calls for her and she excuses herself, inviting the agents to take a look around if they'd like. Dean turns to Sam.

"Okay, so...including the Massachusetts vic, that's two teachers and one scout leader."

"People who supervise kids." Sam concludes. Dean turns on the EMF detector, which flashes violently, static coming from the speaker.

"Whoa." Dean turns of the detector. "There's a lot of action here. Okay, well, I'm switching my vote from witch to ghost."

"I don't know." Sam leafs through the coroner's reports on the bodies. "EMF isn't that surprising at a museum. They're always filled with ADHD spirits and their tethers, you know?"

"Well, how are we going to figure out which one it is?" Cass asks, suddenly.

"I think I've got an idea." Dean says, thoughtfully.


End file.
